Review of The Father (2020) by Iceman21 — 05 Apr 2021

An award-winning play is being made for the big screen - and by its director, who had no previous film experience. Can that work? Florian Zeller proves that it can. Dementia-stricken and proud Anthony learns from his daughter Anne that she will soon be moving to Paris. From then on, Zeller narrates the successive decline of Anthony's mind in complex but highly emotional and, above all, human ways.

Anthony Hopkins is ideally cast for the lead role of Anthony. On the one hand, he is an empathetic father who means well for his daughter, but on the other, his pride and one-dimensionality make him sullen and critical of her decisions. Hopkins has never been seen in this simplicity. His character does not want to accept that his illness is getting the upper hand and is sure that he can manage without the help of care. At the same time, the increasing memory loss is told exclusively from his point of view, which automatically leads you to sympathise with the protagonist despite his often impossible deeds. This sympathy factor that Hopkins permanently carries with him makes it much easier to relate to him. It is arguably his best performance since his legendary one as Dr Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, albeit much more nuanced and realistic. While the strong female role at his side then was Jodie Foster, this time it is Olivia Colman as Anthony's daughter Anne. She logically disagrees with her father and does everything possible to organise the help he needs before she leaves for Paris. Colman is the heart of the film. She is heartbreaking in this role and often cannot emotionally withstand the pain that the sight of her suffering father causes her. Her chemistry with Hopkins is also very deep and often one would think that the two actually share this kind of father-daughter relationship. Colman is fragile in her individual scenes, but also forcefully strong and always torn about her father's treatment. Rounding out the great cast are Imogen Poots, Rufus Sewell and Olivia Williams, all constantly taking on different roles due to the confusion in Anthony's head. Williams in particular adds an enormous amount of vulnerability to her few moments, especially the final scene.

Zeller has succeeded in a very particular kind of filmmaking with The Father. In its simplicity, the film is nevertheless very complexly constructed, especially in the first hour, and one cannot believe that dementia can apparently really trigger this process in a person's head. Because Hopkins does such a fantastic job of translating this and the editing also relies very effectively on surprise and suddenness, it never becomes too much to bear. Zeller also manages not to make the film seem exclusively sad, but also enriches the plot with thoroughly funny interludes. Basically, however, The Father is a sentimental drama that continuously makes hearts beat faster and that you can hardly get through without shedding a tear. An instructive, authentic and fascinating piece of filmmaking that is an absolute hit for a directorial debut and should be seen by everyone despite the vehemence of its subject matter.